Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 carrying 242 people, crashed after taking off from Ahmedabad on its way to London.

The state government said samples of 250 victims, including persons on board as well as those killed on the ground, had been collected for identification.

Sabharwal was the pilot in command of the ill-fated Ahmedabad-London Gatwick Air India plane that crashed last week, killing 241 out of 242 people on board, and 29 on the ground.

There have been cases of a very small number of survivors in very serious accidents, but it is "very rare" for there to be only one, a professor told Newsweek.

Hundreds gathered in Mumbai today to honour Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the Air India pilot who has been hailed as a hero for limiting casualties on the ground during last week’s crash.Captain Sabharwal issued a mayday call to air traffic controllers moments after takeoff and residents on the ground have credited him with avoiding a large residential building that was directly on the flight path.

The tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad has claimed 241 lives, including that of a promising young cricketer, Dirdh Patel. The 23-year-old was among the passengers aboard Air India Flight AI171,

At least 270 died when the Air India flight crashed into the campus of a medical college in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday. Only one passenger among the 242 aboard survived. At least 29 others on the ground, including five medical students inside the hostel, were also killed.

Air India has faced numerous deadly incidents, including the recent crash of flight 171, which killed 241, and past tragedies like the 1985 bombing and 2020 crash.